Catherine Moore

921b Elysian Fields Avenue Catherine Moore

Catherine Moore's latest chapbook is epistolary, using a series of letters to tell a love story. The epistolary novel as a genre became popular in the 18th century, but in 921b Elysian Fields Avenue (RETURN TO SENDER), the genre is fresh and reimagined. Through the use of personas, a battle between chastity (Daphne) and sexual desires (Apollo) is recreated in a modern context. After attending a lecture, the author was fascinated by Fernando Pessoa's use of heteronyms (variety of personas) in his private love letters. That fascination served as inspiration for this collection. This love story, set in the city of New Orleans, is told by way of an obsessed young man, Paul, who writes from different heteronyms (Apollo and Vern) to his desired Daphne. Catherine Moore's writing appears in Tahoma Literary Review, Southeast Review, Cider Press Review, Southampton Review, and in various anthologies. Her work garnered the 2014 Gearhart Poetry Prize and is included in The Best Small Fictions of 2015. She earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Tampa. She lives in the Nashville area where she enjoys a thriving arts community and was recently awarded a MetroArts grant. Catherine currently teaches at a community college. She is tweetable @CatPoetic and is found online at http: //about.me/catherinemoore.